Reign of a King (Kingdom Duet 1)

Aurora Harper.

Previously Clarissa Griffin.

That’s how I lost her — not that I’ve been actively searching for her. Alicia mentioned in her will that she wanted Clarissa taken care of. Then Clarissa disappeared off the face of the earth.

She couldn’t have been more than sixteen when the whole shitstorm with Maxim Griffin went down. She was a minor, yet she disappeared. I went as far as asking around in the UK Protected Persons Service with underhanded methods and they also said she was a missing person.

It’s like she vanished into thin air.

Granted, I didn’t put my all into searching for her, because I didn’t want a reminder of Alicia right after her death. I needed to move along, and Clarissa would’ve hindered that process.

Still, how dare she disappear then reappear without my permission?

Does she think this is a game? That she can do as she pleases and get away without paying the price?

And Ethan.

That’s a bold move that she’ll be punished for. Eventually.

I slip into the back of my car and find my assistant and right-hand man, Harris.

He’s one of those nerds who’s spent his entire life studying and is a genius, not only with numbers but also with information. He knows everything about everything.

Greeting me with a small nod of his head, he focuses back on his tablet, adjusting his frameless glasses.

“How’s the draft?” I ask.

“Eighty per cent completed. It’s with the legal team and will be ready in two hours.”

“Make it one and tell them to start drafting the additional merger contract.”

“On it.” He types at a rapid-fire pace on his tablet.

“And, Harris?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I need you to look up someone.”

He lifts his head from his affair with the tablet to give me a quizzical glance. The only people I look up are the ones I’ll do business with or whose companies I’ll take over.

Harris doesn’t need a reminder to do that. He forwards me all the relevant information before I even ask for it.

The reason behind his reaction is my change of pattern. He, of all people, knows I follow habits. It’s what maintains the order and control. It lets me rule with an iron fist and without mistakes.

The fact that I’m breaking my own rule is disturbing his usual work methods. But he won’t ask about the reason. And that’s what I like about Harris the most. He keeps the unnecessary rubbish to himself and talks solely in data.

“Name?”

“Aurora Harper. Previously Clarissa Griffin. The daughter of Maxim Griffin, the duct tape killer in Northern England. I need you to tell me everything you know about her.”

I have a premonition she’ll defy me.

My lips twitch fighting a smile.

It’s been a long time since someone dared to challenge me after being given a warning. They usually fall to their knees without as much as a verbal command.

Let’s see how Aurora will react.